Vinnie the Bully
Plot The Great Railway Show was one of Thomas' best memories. He had made a new friend in Ashima and Sodor proved itself to the rest of the world. However, the downside was that a few of the international engines weren't really as nice as the tank engine had expected. Perhaps it was the competitive drive they had, or maybe it was just the way they were. Thomas knew for sure though that for Vinnie, it was just the way he was. There were many words to describe him, but "positive" wasn't really one of them. While he deeply missed Ashima, and to a lesser extent, some of the other internationals, he was happy that he would never see Vinnie again... or so he thought. Thomas puffed into Track 2 of Vicarstown Station, sighing as he let off steam. "Oh, no. It's you." Thomas jumped in surprise; he recognized that voice, and it wasn't one that he liked. "Vinnie?!" The large tender engine smirked as he backed alongside Thomas "Yes, shrimp. It is I, Vinnie." "What are you doing on Sodor? You're from North America!" Thomas scowled. "Why should I tell you for? You don't deserve to know the reason of my presence. I'm too busy to do that." "Rubbish! You're sitting around doing nothing!" "You're the one who's a pile of rubbish. You and your Indian friend didn't let me finish off that little cardboard box. Oh how I can't wait to see him again..." Vinnie grinned wickedly, thinking of his "revenge". Thomas gasped, realizing what Vinnie had in mind. "No! I won't let you!" "Oh, but yes. My... *ahem* 'job' must be completed... Now if you excuse me, I have to get to your yard to pick some goods up." Vinnie quickly puffed away before the tank engine could reply. "Oh no..." Douglas backed down onto Track 3 to collect some lumber. "Aye, ah see ye'v met Vinnie," the Caledonian twin huffed angrily. "I met him at the Great Railway Show. What's he doing here, Douglas?" Thomas asked. "Henry's ill, sae o' coorse th' Fat Controller chose him, sin he won th' strength contest." "Oh dear, that's not good..." At Killdane, Derek was shunting some vans out of the way when Vinnie puffed in. Derek looked over to find the Canadian engine glaring at him. He reversed so he could get a better look at him. "Hello there, chap," the diesel grinned, "Who are you?" "Well, I'm not a little bug like you," Vinnie snorted as he puffed past, "Go back to the scrapyard and get recycled." Derek frowned, quite hurt indeed. "Well then... That was unexpected." As Vinnie puffed along the Main Line, he kept giving any engines that saw him glares, which made them stop immediately. Rosie was looking at Vinnie in awe; after all, she had never seen such a big engine. Vinnie, noticing this, stared angrily at her. "What do you want, girly?" Rosie went pale immediately. "N-nothing..." "That's what I thought..." Vinnie couldn't help but smirk as he outran Rosie. "Stupid shrimps... They'll soon learn not to mess with me..." Later, at Knapford Yards, Philip panted heavily as he shunted a long goods train. "Goodness me, Philip," Stanley said worriedly as he puffed alongside the boxcab, "You're working your wheels off! Need any help?" "No thank you, Stanley! I can do it all by myself, because I'm very strong! Heh heh heh... Heh..." "Alright then... Famous last words," Stanley muttered as he puffed away. Philip grunted as the trucks hit some buffers. He sighed with relief as the job was completed. "Alright... All I need is a few more trucks on Siding 3 and I'll be good to go!" "What kind of yard is this?!" a loud voice boomed, "Nothing's organized! Everyone's running around in circles here! Cab over wheels!" Philip froze when he heard that voice. "W-who's there?" he whimpered, hoping it wasn't who he thought it was. "Oh, it's you..." Philip looked back in horror to find Vinnie grinning deviously at him. "O-oh... H-hi V-vinnie... W-what are y-you doing h-h-here?" "Mister Fat Man told me to help with the goods traffic here, and that's exactly what I'm doing. What are you doing here?" "I... uh... I live here," Philip stammered. "Well, that explains everything! No wonder this yard's terrible! It's so unorganized! Not like back home. Our yards are perfect... We don't have idiots like you handling the workload..." "Well... I... uh..." "Either you get back to work right now or I'll push you into the turntable well again! This time, there's no-one to save you, so it can easily be done..." Philip wanted to run away, but he knew that Vinnie was much faster than he was, and would probably knock him off the rails. "Why are you talking to Philip like that?" Vinnie and Philip looked over to find Neville backing down onto some trucks of steel. "Because I can, and I will. Mind your own business, diesel," Vinnie sneered. "Actually I'm a steam engine, thank you very much." "Does it look like I care? Because I don't." Philip winced; he didn't want Vinnie picking on Neville. "Neville, it's okay, just... go on," the little diesel squeaked. Neville rose an eyebrow, but said nothing. "Yes, Melvin, listen to the box here and buzz off before I turn you into scrap metal!" Neville, frightened at the word 'scrap', screamed as he puffed away. Vinnie snickered and looked back to his target. "Now... get my train ready..." "Yes, Vinnie! Right away, Vinnie!" "Sir Vinnie..." "What? Why-" "Sir Vinnie..." Philip gulped; he knew that annoying Vinnie was a mistake, so he decided to go along with what he said. "Okay... Sir Vinnie... I'm going..." Philip quickly started to cross the junctions to get the trucks Vinnie needed. Vinnie smirked with triumph. At last, Vinnie's train was ready, and he had turned around so he could back down onto the trucks. "Hey, remember this, Philly... You will be mine when I get back... You hear me?" Philip trembled with fright, but managed to voice a quiet reply. "Y-yes..." "...good." Vinnie puffed away, leaving a horrified Philip behind. He looked around the yard; apparently nobody else had seen the incident, and he guessed that Neville was unlikely to tell anyone. Vinnie would make sure of that. Philip sighed sadly; he would love to stand up to him, but he didn't think it was a good idea. If he wanted to, Vinnie could shunt him across the island on one of his trains, and he preferred to be in one piece. "Why does he have to pick on me..." he groaned. "Philip? Where are you? I need some coaches!" Philip gasped. "Oh no! Bear's coaches!" He honked his horn and rushed to collect them. Philip was still in low spirits when he was pushing them to the platform. Bear looked back, a little worried. "Uh, Philip? I think you need to hurry it up a bit or else I'll be late." "Yeah... Sure..." Philip sighed as he brought the coaches into the station. Bear rose an eyebrow; compared to Philip's usual energetic nature that brought a new yet welcomed atmosphere to the yard, this was quite surprising. Clearly something was wrong, but Bear didn't know what. "What's wrong, Philip?" Bear asked. Philip winced; Bear might be able to take a stand against Vinnie, but he didn't really want to get into more trouble. "Well, uh... Nothing, Bear. Nothing at all." Bear had a feeling Philip knew more than he was letting on, but the guard blew the whistle and he had to leave. "Alright then... See you later, Philip." Bear rushed away before Philip could say another word. The little boxcab sighed. Later, Bear pulled into Tidmouth, still concerned about Philip. "It's just not like him..." "Just not like who?" asked Thomas, who had delivered a goods train from Elsbridge and was preparing to leave. Bear looked at Thomas and started to explain. "It's Philip. He seems to be on edge for some reason. I want to help, but I can't if he doesn't tell me what's wrong." Thomas bit his lip as he immediately connected the dots. "Oh no!" "What's wrong?" Bear asked with concern. "No time to explain. I better find Philip, and quickly!" Thomas was quickly uncoupled from his goods. Once this was done, he whistled as he rushed out of the station. Bear frowned. "Oh dear..." A while later, Thomas arrived at the shunting yard, looking urgently for Philip. "Philip? Philip...? Where are you?" he shouted. He looked around the yard, but could see no sign of the little boxcab. He started to get panicky, and decided calling his name was the best option. "Philip...?" Thomas then noticed Knapford Sheds, and that one of the doors was closed. "Philip! I'm coming!" Philip, thinking the voice had belonged to Vinnie, started screaming in terror. "No, please don't hurt me! I'm just a little boxcab in a shed!" "Philip, it's okay! It's only me, Thomas." Philip rolled slowly forward, pushing the door open, and was greatly relieved to find Thomas smiling warmly at him. "Philip! Oh thank goodness you're alright! I thought Vinnie was going to-" "I know, Thomas, but I'm scared. He hasn't done it yet, but I know he wants to. To be perfectly honest, I think he just wants to watch me squirm a bit before he does the... deed. I don't know what to do! You can't be my guardian all the time, and that Indian engine is back in her country!" Thomas wanted to be optimistic about the whole thing, but he knew deep down that Philip was right. "Why haven't you told the Fat Controller, Philip?" "I... I'm afraid Vinnie'll come after me if I tell anyone... I don't want more engines in danger..." "Oh..." "Thomas?" Thomas noticed that tears were welling up in the boxcab's eyes. "Yes, Philip?" "Why does he have to pick on me? What did I do to him?" Thomas sighed deeply, wondering how he could phrase his reply without making Philip feel even worse. "Well, Philip... Some engines... they're just not very friendly. From what I've seen, it seems you bumped into him a couple times, and for some, that's enough for someone like you to become a target." "But... those were accidents! I apologized, yet all he did was chase me down in front of all the contenders!" "Bullies don't really care if it was an accident," Thomas said gravely, "Once they see a chance to latch onto someone, they will." "Have you ever dealt with a bully, Thomas?" "Well... heh, not exactly. I've dealt with pompous engines throughout all my years of service here, but I knew deep down they cared about me and I could call them friends. Vinnie... I can't feel that at all." "Oh..." Philip whimpered, looking down at the rails. Thomas hated to see Philip so scared, and he wanted to help in any way that he could, but he knew that if he tried to stand up to Vinnie by himself, he'd share the same fate as Philip. "Hmm... I'm afraid I have to go back to my branch line, Philip. I'll see you later. Just... watch out, alright? I'll try and think of something." Philip gulped, not wanting to see Thomas go. "Well... alright, Thomas. If you must..." The E2 whistled and began to puff away, taking one last glance at the little diesel. In a few moments, Thomas had found Annie and Clarabel in a siding and was coupled up. "Come on you two, we have to get to Knapford. We have another run with the Local." "Of course, Thomas," said Clarabel cheerily, "It's nice to stretch our wheels on the Main Line sometimes, isn't it?" "Well, personally I think we serve better as branch line coaches than Main Line coaches, but you can think what you think," Annie said. "Yes... Indeed it is..." Annie frowned, noticing Thomas wasn't as enthusiastic about their trip as he usually was. "Thomas, is something wrong? You don't sound well. Do you have a boiler ache?" "If only it was," Thomas muttered as he puffed towards the station. Annie and Clarabel looked at each other worriedly. Thomas started thinking of engines that could help. "Let's see... Who can help... No... Murdoch? No... He's big like Vinnie but he's too quiet..." Suddenly, a light bulb went off in Thomas' mind as found the perfect candidates. "Of course! It's so obvious! Donald and Douglas! They can help me!" "What do you need Donald and Douglas' help for?" Annie asked. "No time to explain, Annie! I have to find them!" He noticed Edward puffing slowly along with a slow goods. The tank engine rushed forward, jerking Annie and Clarabel. "Thomas! What are you doiiing?!" "Edward! Edward!" Thomas shouted urgently. Edward looked over, surprised to find Thomas rushing alongside him. "Thomas?" "Where are Donald and Douglas? I need to find them!" "Well, uh... I think they're at Vicarstown. But why-" "Thanks, Edward!" Thomas whistled and sped up further, leaving Edward in a cloud of steam. Edward blinked, utterly confused. "Huh...?" It took a long time for Thomas to reach Vicarstown, but luckily, he noticed Donald and Douglas resting their wheels. "Donald! Douglas! I need your help!" Thomas cried. Donald and Douglas each rose an eyebrow. "Whit kind o' hulp, laddie?" asked Donald. "You two are good at defending against bullies, right?" Douglas chuckled. "Aye, weel, we hae dealt wi' a few ower th' years." "Thank goodness. I need you to help defend against a large North Amerian tender engine named Vinnie." "Is he bullying ye, Thomas?" Donald inquired. "Not exactly. It's Philip. Vinnie wants to push him into a turntable well!" "Whit!? Nae wee Philip!" "I'm afraid so. We have to get back to Knapford. Can you have someone else take your trains?" "Och na! we hae a lang train tae tak' tae th' mainland soon, efter th' station pilot shunts thaim!" Douglas said. "Well, don't you worry, fellas! I can take care of that for you!" Thomas and the Scottish Twins looked over in relief to find Hank grinning at them at another track. "Hank? You have no trains?" the blue tank engine asked urgently. "Indeed I don't! I can take Donald and Douglas' goods train, while you do your... er... whatever it is you're doing." "Oh, thank you Hank! You're a lifesaver!" Thomas said gratefully. "No problem, Thomas. Anything for a friend." "Thank goodness. Come on you two, we have to hurry!" "But, Thomas! What about us?!" Clarabel asked. "Oh, I almost forgot about you!" Annie and Clarabel lowered their eyelids. "Of course you did..." "Heh... Uh... tell the station pilot to shunt them in a siding, will you Hank?" "Of course," smiled the big engine. Thomas, Donald and Douglas blew their whistles and raced away. "Go get 'im, you three! Whoever he is..." Hank said. Later, Philip was shunting a passenger train when when Donald and Douglas puffed next to him, one on each side. "Oh, uh... Hi you two," Philip said nervously, "What are you doing here?" "Thomas, Donal' 'n' ah ur 'ere tae hulp ye tak' a stand against that bully Vinnie," Douglas explained. "Thomas? But-" "I'm here!" Thomas' cheeks were red as he panted alongside Donald, "Why didn't you slow down for me?" Donald and Douglas snickered, then looked back at Philip. "Didn't Gordon try this once though?" "Yes, but we're not insufferably annoying lik' Gòrdon is," Donald muttered. "Oh..." "Now, the first step in being braver is to be more confident." "Explain yer feelings about standing up to Vinnie," Donald suggested. "Uh... terrified." "This isnae aff tae go weel, is it... Ye'r th' quick-thinking twin, Douggie, think o' something." "A'm trying, a'm trying... Hmm... Nothing's comin' tae mind. A'd say we cuid staun up tae Vinnie, bit it'd be better fur Philip tae dae it himself." "What?!" Philip burst out, "I'm terrified though! I just said so! It's not like I can lead Vinnie into a siding, get out of the way in time, and have him crash through the buffers, right?!" Donald and Douglas looked to each other. "Philip... That's brilliant!" Thomas cried. "Wait, me being terrified is brilliant? Isn't that too morbid?" "What? No! You unintentionally laid out a plan! That's brilliant!" "Wait, so you're saying that I'm going to do what I just said?" Philip asked worriedly. "Well... yes." "...oh..." Later, Vinnie scuttled into the yard, glancing in all directions to find Philip. He noticed Charlie shunting some oil tankers out of the way. "Hey, shrimp!" Charlie looked at Vinnie and grinned. "Hello, fish!" "...get out of here... now." "H-hey, let's not get hasty! I mean, sure, my joke was bad but... uh..." "I said get out..." Vinnie snarled. Charlie gulped and raced away in terror. Vinnie snickered and glanced ahead. He smirked as he noticed Philip in a siding. "Oh, hello again, box..." Philip looked at Vinnie and gasped. From Knapford Sheds, Thomas, Donald and Douglas watched with worry. Thomas' door was a bit ajar, so he could still encourage the boxcab. "Hide your fear!" whispered Thomas, "Do as we told you!" "Shush!" huffed Donald, "Or he'll hear ye!" The boxcab looked Vinnie in the eye. "You think I'm afraid of you?" Philip ventured bravely, "Well, not anymore! You're just as much of an engine as I am!" "Oh, look at the big boy! He's all grown up!" Vinnie chuckled, "I'd be impressed... if I didn't hate you." "All I did was bump into you though. By accident-" "Silence!" boomed Vinnie, "I think you've forgotten what I said earlier..." Philip gulped, though he tried to not make it too noticeable. "Uh... what was it?" "I... was going to push you into the well." "Oh... right..." Philip took one last glance at Thomas and started executing the plan. "Can't catch me!" The boxcab giggled as he reversed out of the way, towards the buffers. "Hah, idiot! I have you now!" Vinnie cackled as he raced after him. Philip's eyes bulged as Vinnie neared him. "Maybe this wasn't a good idea..." He felt some points under his wheels and went his fastest speed. "You're mine!" Vinnie grinned. Philip gasped. "Points!" "Huh?" Inside a signalbox, the signalman saw the situation and spat out his coffee. He raced for the lever and switched it, just in time. The points switched and Philip scurried out of the way. Vinnie was shocked. "What the?! Huh?! Get back here!" Emily was exiting Knapford Station when she saw Vinnie's situation. "Look out, Vinnie!" Vinnie looked ahead and gasped. "No, no, no!" The large engine was going too fast to stop, so he smashed straight the buffers and plowed right into a building. Emily winced as Paxton scurried up in the opposite direction. The naive diesel gasped in horror as he saw Vinnie crashing. "Bust my buffers! What happened?" "It seems Vinnie was chasing Philip and smashed into that building over there," Emily remarked, "It's lucky nobody was in there." Rubble covered Vinnie as he spat out some debris. "Ohhh... My boiler..." "Serves you right!" Philip grinned, "Na na na na! Heh... that felt good!" Thomas whistled with delight as he raced out of the shed. "You did it, Philip! You outsmarted that bully!"Philip smiled sheepishly. "I did... Didn't I... For the first time in a while, he beamed. "Oh, when I get you idiots... Argh!" Vinnie snarled. Inside his office, the Fat Controller had heard the noise and came storming out of his office. "What on earth is going on here?!" he asked severely as he walked up to the scene of the crash. When he saw that Vinnie was in the building, he gasped. "Oh my goodness! What happened, Vinnie?" Vinnie groaned in somewhat fake pain. "These... two bullies, sir!" he said crossly, taking a meaningful glance at Thomas and Philip, "They pushed me into the building!" The Fat Controller glanced at a nervous Thomas and a pale Philip, then looked back to Vinnie. "Vinnie... I don't believe you. It's incredibly obvious Thomas and Philip can't move you on their own. The fact you're lying suggests you have something to hide." "Aye, 'n' he does, sir!" The Fat Controller turned around in surprise to find Donald and Douglas puffing up. "What do you mean?" "This engine's th' bully!" Donald accused, glaring at a nervous Vinnie, "This lad's bin terrorizing poor Philip a' day! He's a menace tae th' rails, sir!" "And how did he crash into the building?" the stout gentleman asked. "I can answer that, sir," said Emily helpfully. Everyone looked at Emily, who cleared her throat. "I mean, I'm sorry to interrupt, sir, but I did see Vinnie chasing Philip. Philip got out of the way in time, and Vinnie crashed right into the building." "I did too, sir," Paxton added, "It gave me a bit of a fright!" "See, sir? Two witnesses who knew nothing of this beforehand is pretty hard evidence," Thomas said. "Indeed it is..." the Fat Controller agreed as he walked up to Vinnie. "Uh oh..." "Well, Vinnie, it seems you've been exposed. On top of lying and destroying some property, you bully one of my youngest engines! That is not right, Vinnie, and deep down I think you know it too." Vinnie said nothing, and just rolled his eyes. "Henry's repairs should be done soon enough, so I'm sending you back home, where your controller can manage you. I'm sure he won't like hearing about this." "...yes sir," Vinnie grumbled. Thomas winked at Philip, who smiled. Soon, the mess was beginning to be cleared up. Murdoch pulled Vinnie out of the mess, and cranes were brought in to help load the rubble into trucks. By the time the work was completed, Vinnie sat on the rails, dented and scratched, and in disgrace. The engines that went through the station said nothing to him, but they all gave him dirty looks. Vinnie didn't feel sorry for anything that he did, but he did feel rather humiliated. Murdoch coupled up to him and sighed. "I for one am certainly glad you're leaving..." he muttered. Vinnie just grunted. Thomas was collecting Annie and Clarabel, and Philip was arranging some coaches when a loud whistle blew through the station. "Henry!" cried Thomas and Philip together. "In the metal!" Henry grinned as he puffed proudly into the station, "What did I miss?" "Uh..." "Stupid Sodor engines... Nobody messes with Vinnie! Nobody!" "Oh, give me some peace and quiet, will you...?" Murdoch grumbled as he pulled Vinnie through the station. Henry winced as he looked at the battered Vinnie. "...oh." Thomas chuckled and looked over at Philip. "How does it feel to be braver, Philip?" "It's... quite nice, actually! Thank you for helping me with my problem, Thomas." "It's no problem, Philip. That's what friends are for" "What are you talking about?" Henry asked in confusion. "I'll tell you at the shed," Thomas replied, and his guard blew his whistle. Thomas grinned as he puffed off to his branch line. He felt proud to have passed down some worthy advice to a young engine, just as a certain blue tender engine had done for him. As for Vinnie, well... let's just say he didn't get a welcome parade when he got back to North America. Characters * Thomas * Edward * Henry * Emily * Donald and Douglas * Murdoch * Neville * Rosie * Stanley * Hank * Charlie * Vinnie * Bear * Derek * Paxton * Philip * Annie and Clarabel * The Fat Controller * Gordon (does not speak) * James (cameo) * Den (cameo) * Rocky (cameo) * Jerome and Judy (cameo) * George (cameo) * Jack (cameo) * Oliver (The Pack) (cameo) * Ned (cameo) * Max and Monty (cameo) * Ashima (mentioned) Locations * Vicarstown * Killdane * Knapford Yards * Knapford * Tidmouth * Knapford Sheds * Elsbridge (mentioned) Trivia * Neville's fear of the word "scrap" carries over from Scrap Sculpting. * The special The Great Race is referenced. Category:Sodor Adventures Category:Future Releases